When There's A War
by Blaise White
Summary: Benjamin has an older daughter, just one year younger than Gabriel. When Tavington goes after Benjamin's children he finds her and takes her with him. Will Tavington find love in the seventeen year old daughter of his enemy?
1. Letters from Charlestown

A/N: Ok so I was watching the Patriot in school right and I had this cool idea while watching the part where Tavington goes after Ben's kids. So sit back and enjoy, this is gonna be great!

Disclaimer: I don't own the patriot or any character besides Eliza. I totally made her up on my own.

Eliza watched in amusement as her father, Benjamin Martin, tried the wooden rocking chair he had just made. She was the second born of seventeen. Just one year behind Gabriel. She fought back the urge to laugh as the chair broke from under Bnjamin causing him to fall to the floor. Benjamin picked up the chair in anger and threw it on a pile of other failures. She giggled slightly as Susan slowly shook her head at Benjamin for throwing the chair. Benjamin looked at her briefly.

"It was a good try Father. You nearly had it that time." Eliza said, trying to keep a straight face. She looked up as she heard her brother's Thomas and Gabriel shout that the mail had arrived. She ran out to meet them holding her skirt just above her ankles so she wouldn't trip over it. Thomas handed the mail to Benjamin, then they all went inside.

After a very delicious supper, Gabriel, Thomas, Benjamin, and Eliza sat in the parlor watching the flames of a fire outline Thomas and his tin soldiers. When Eliza was younger she used to play with him, but her father frowned upon it now. "How will you ever find a suitable husband with your dress dirty from the floor?" He would always ask. So Eliza finally gave in and didn't play with the soldiers anymore. Thomas and Gabriel were waiting impatiently for Benjamin to get to opening the mail. He saw this and finally said something.

"So, what came in the mail today?" Thomas and Gabriel jumped up and ran to get the letters recieved. Eliza grinned and followed them. She had been called on by many men in the town, but she had turned them all down. Unlike her sisters, Eliza had soft brown hair like her father. She also had green eyes, and thin frame. Everyone adored her. But Eliza wasn't interested in any of them. But she couldn't quite say why. Gabriel grabbed the paper, while Thomas watched his father open a letter. After a while Benjamin spoke. "There's to be a meeting in Charlestown and I've been summoned to go." Thomas got an excited look in his eyes.

"We're going to Charlestown?!" He asked. The boy was practically jumping up and down in excitement. Benjamin smiled and nodded.

"We leave tomorrow morning."

The next morning everyone got up early. Eliza helped to prepare breakfast, and then they left. It wasn't that long a ride to Charlestown. Eliza spent the time thinking about the arguement Benjamin and Gabriel had about Gabriel going to aide the revolution. But soon they're Aunt Charlotte's house came into veiw. Eliza began to feel a great excitement. She loved visiting her Aunt. She smiled and ran up to her with everyone else smiling widely.

"Benjamin, they're huge. What have you been feeding them?" Charlotte asked with a laugh. Benjamin smiled too as he responded.

"Good heritage on their mother's side." Benjamin was clearly sucking up, but Eliza didn't say anything.

"I have something for you all." Charlotte smiled. The younger children smiled and ran inside. Eliza walked after them to make sure they didn't get into too much trouble. Besides that, she wondered what her Aunt had gotten her.

Later when it was dark, everyone except Gabriel was standing on the balcony on the second floor. Gabriel was down on the street celebrating with all the older boys. Thomas spotted him first.

"Look there's Gabriel!" Thomas shouted. "Gabriel!" Thomas and everyone else waved wildly. Gabriel grinned up at them and waved. He then walked off. Eliza smiled, knowing who he had spotted. It was Anne Howard. She was a good friend of Eliza. They still wrote, even though Gabriel didn't know about it. Anne often mentioned Gabriel in her letters. She missed him a lot. Eliza and the others went inside after that.

The next morning was the meeting. Eliza was terribly excited about it. She supported the revolution. She thought her father did too, but she wasn't sure about it. She listened as the arguments went back and forth. Eliza was suprised when Benjamin stood to speak. She was even more suprised about what he said.

When the meeting was over, the people flooded into the streets to wait and see if the levee would pass or fail. Finally a boy ran out shouting the news.

"28 TO 12! THE LEVEE PASSED!" The boy shouted. All around her Eliza could hear the shouts of joy at the news. She looked at her father. For some reason he seemed disappointed. Gabriel went to a table where a few people congregated.

"You're joining the army aren't you?" Benjamin asked. Gabriel nodded. Benjamin was about to protest, but stopped. He had spotted an old friend. Eliza stood idly while they talked. Finally the other man noticed her.

"And who is this lovely girl?" Asked her father's friend. He took her hand and gently kissed it. Eliza blushed slightly.

"My name is Eliza Martin. Pleased to meet you." Eliza introduced her self. He father gazed at her with pride.

"The pleasure is all mine Eliza. But as I said Benjamin, I'll make sure Gabriel serves under me." Benjamin and his friend resumed talking. Eliza wandered off back to her Aunt Charlottes. She didn't want Gabriel to leave, but she knew he would be serving a good cause. She wanted to spend as much time with him as she could before he left. 


	2. Tavington's Prize

A/N: It's been unforgiveably long, and I'm sure people have stopped reading it by now, but another chapter is here, because i still have the idea, and I still love it, and take it out of my drawer every once in a while to admire it. So here it goes. Note that it's been a while since I seen the movie, so if I'm a bit awkward with this at first, please forgive me.

Eliza and her family had been back home for two years now, wondering and worrying about Gabriel. She was now nineteen years old, and was being called on by a young man named Jacob, who her father approved of, but she didn't. But as usual, she would follow her father's wishes.

Jacob was a nice enough man, but he was too plain, and traditional. He was too much like her father, which was most likely why he approved of the match. Eliza was sitting on the porch with her other siblings listening as Thomas read a letter from Gabriel out loud. How she missed her eldest brother, who always stood up for her, and was on her side in conflicts with her father.

That night as she helped serve dinner, Eliza heard her father address an intruder in the house. She looked out the diningroom door and saw her blond haired older brother standing there, wounded. She quickly ran to him as he collapsed against her father. She helped tend to his wound when he was put in bed. She cried, very worried about her brother. It was around that time that she heard the distant sound of battle. She looked out the window frightened, and hoping that the battle wouldn't turn their way.

But of course it did, and soon enough Eliza was able to make out more than just shadows on the field. When the battle noises grew quiet, she helped her father, Thomas, and Samuel bring the wounded in. She cleaned some wounds, but there were injuries she couldn't fix, let alone bear to look at. She got barely any sleep that night, and most of the time she was asleep she only saw the horrid injuries of soldiers.

Early in the morning British soldiers led by a colonel with dark hair and cold blue eyes came to pick up the wounded. For some reason this man scared her more than anything else ever had. She couldn't help but stare into his eyes, but when he glared back at her, she quickly diverted her gaze. He smiled a cold smile, and turned his horse towards her.

But instead of addressing the pretty teen girl, he addressed a major who had arrived before him. "See that our men get taken safely." When the major asked of the rebel wounded, the cold colonel smiled his cold smile. "Kill them. And burn the house. Let it be known that if you shelter the enemy you will lose your home." He then turned his full attention to Eliza. "Such a pretty creature you are. Tell me, what is your name?"

Eliza knew it would be best to just answer the question, and not put up a fuss. "Eliza," she replied just loud enough to be heard. She found herself staring into the electric blue of the colonel's eyes once more, unable to tear away her gaze.

"Such a pretty name." That was when an underling brought the dispatches Gabriel had been carrying when he was wounded. "Who carried these?" Eliza's suspicions that the colonel was not a patient man were confirmed when he asked again, in a louder voice, "Who carried these?"

"I did, Sir." Gabriel came foward, putting on his coat. He went foward, and Eliza knew then that Gabriel's fate was sealed, he was a dead man. Gabriel stopped before the colonel's horce, looking up into his cold eyes.

"Very well. This man is a spy. He will be hanged tomorrow." The colonel made his horse move a bit closer to Eliza as her father began to protest while British soldiers bound Gabriel's hands.

"This is a marked case. This boy is a messenger, you can't hold him!" Benjamin protested, not wanting his son to die at the hands of a tyrant.

"We're not going to hold him, we're going to hang him." The colonel turned again to Eliza. "Eliza, come with me. Since you won't have a home, I can garuntee your safety." He knew full well that Eliza wouldn't want to go with him, but he wasn't giving her a choice. He grabbed her arm and hauled her up on the horse, so that she rode side-saddle in front of him, his arms reaching around her waist to grip the reigns.

"NO!" Eliza looked over to see Thomas running over in a mad attempt to free Gabriel. Before she could do anything, the Colonel that was kidnapping her pulled out a gun and shot Thomas in the back.

"Stupid boy," he said before turning his horse around to trod off. Eliza turned as much as she could, watching the house she grew up in burn to the ground, tears running down her face. "Don't worry my dear, soon you'll have a nicer home then that one." Tavington smirked over Eliza's head as she sat up straight, not wanting to lean against him, and cried. He rode off with his men, taking Benjamin Martin's eldest daughter with him.

It was an hour's ride back to the camp where Eliza was taken. When they arrived, Tavington got off the horse, and helped the girl he had taken off the horse when his feet were on the ground. There weren't many tents set up, but Tavington didn't have a lot of men with him. They would be meeting up with the rest of the unit the next day.

Tavington looked at the pretty girl he had taken. He was a British officer, and the people he had taken the girl from were colonist rebels, so he felt no guilt in kidnapping her. He didn't sugarcoat what he had done in his mind, he had kidnapped the girl, and there was no getting around that.

Eliza's eyes still had tears in them, and they were rimmed with red from her crying almost the whole hour on the ride to the camp. She didn't look at the Colonel who had taken her, choosing to stare at the grass to her right instead. She messed with the sleeve of her dress near the cuff, a nervous habit she had developed at age ten.

Tavington smiled a side-ways smile, his eyes shining as he offered Eliza his arm. "Come, we'll get some tea." He was glad that Eliza chose not to be difficult and actually took his arm. He led her into the main tent, and directed her over to a wooden chair, where she sat. He poured two cups of tea and brought them over to the small wood table that was located at the left side of the tent. "Would you like cream and sugar?" While his tactics were brutal, he was still an English gentleman.

"Yes please." Eliza looked at the table, hoping Thomas had lived, but getting the feeling that he was gone. She looked down into the amber liquid that was her tea. She realized that she had been asked how much sugar she wanted. "Two cubes please." She watched as the Colonel who had kidnapped her dropped two cubes of sugar into her tea. She poured some cream in herself and mixed it all together. She had just taken her first sip when a young Private came rushing in.

"Colonel Tavington sir! The wagon's that carried the spy you arrested earlier was attacked! Only one man made it back alive!" The Private looked over at Eliza feeling somewhat confused. He was even more confused by the smile that played on her lips. He looked back up at Tavington as the man jumped up from his chair, nearly spilling his tea.

"What?! Take me to the man!" Tavington rushed out of the tent. When Eliza didn't follow he went back for her. "You'll be staying with me at all times Eliza. You wouldn't want to get lost here." There was a slight threatening tone in Tavington's voice as he spoke, but he was very impatient, and extremely upset. He went into the tent where the wounded man was, barely patched up.

Eliza followed closely behind. Her hand jumped to her mouth when she saw the man's wounds. He had been cut in several placed, and it appeared he had been shot in the shoulder. She took a step behind the Colonel, not wanting to see the injured man.

"What happened?" Tavington asked the wounded man. When the Private started to answer Tavington looked over his shoulder at the man. "Were you there? Then let him speak!" Tavington looked over at the wounded man, his cold eyes shining.

"We were attacked. The rest of the men were all killed." The soldier was obviously very weak, and struggling to speak. When he was asked how many men attacked, the soldier had to think a bit. "I don't know. Maybe one."

"One? How could you fail to take down just one man?" Tavington was very annoyed. There couldn't have been just one man. From the sound of the soldier, there had to be at least six men to do such damage.

"Whoever it was, one minute they were one place, the next they were somewhere else." The man coughed a bit.

"Sounds more like a ghost to me." Tavington gave an annoyed sort of half smile.

"Yes, like a ghost." The soldier laid back down flat, unable to keep up, or talk anymore.

Eliza turned around as another soldier came into the tent. Upon closer inspection he looked somewhat familiar. She watched as he whispered something to the soldier who was with them.

"Borden, take a patrol, see if we can catch this ghost before word of his exploits spreads. Who is this?" Tavington turned around seeing the soldier who had come in.

"Sir, this is Captain Wilkins. He was with the loyalist colonial militia. I thought he might be of some use," the soldier said. It was obvious he feared Tavington, it seemed everyone did.

Eliza was surprised. She knew this new Captain. He was five years older than her, and one of her suitors before they moved out to the plantation. She couldn't believe that he had joined the British military. She looked away when Wilkins looked at her, a surprised look on his face. But he quickly turned back to Tavington as the Colonel began to speak.

"Another colonial. Tell me, Captain Wilkins, where do your loyalties lie?" Tavington was annoyed at having another colonial among the ranks. And as if to add insult to injury, he was already an officer. Tavington had begun to think of the colonials as a people seperate from his own native Britain. He thought of them as a nuicance that must be put in it's place.

"To King and Country, Sir." Wilkins didn't need to think about it.

"Why should I trust a man who betrays his neighbors?"

"Well those neighbors of mine who stand against England deserve to die a traitor's death." Wilkins glanced back over at Eliza, not knowing what had happened to her brother, Thomas. He was slightly surprised by the hurt look in her eyes.

"We'll see." Tavington turned to Eliza. "Come along, Eliza." He ducked out of the tent, walking out at a fast pace. Eliza had to jog a few steps to catch up with him. Tavington lead her back to his tent where there was another cot set up for her. He had noticed Wilkins looking at his prize, and knew that they must have been formerly acquanted. No matter, she was his now, and so she would always be.


	3. A Summoning

A/N: And so here comes another update. I love this story so much, and I have a lot of fun ideas. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. ~_^

Tavington wasn't prepared for a girl to be living with him and his men, but no matter. He was glad to have Eliza's company no matter how prepared he was, or wasn't in this particular case. He gave her one of his nightshirts to wear to sleep in that night. Proper night clothes, and other dresses would arrive for her in a couple days. Assuming it wasn't raided by the blasted ghost.

Eliza changed into her borrowed nightshirt while Tavington waited outside the tent. If anything, he was a proper gentleman, which was greatly appreciated. She still hated him for shooting her brother, burning her home, and kidnapping her. His list of offenses was quite long, and yet she found something about him strangely... appealing. She changed quickly, and called out that she was decent so Tavington could come back in.

Tavington entered the tent, a slight smile spreading on his face as he saw his girl in his nightshirt. It went down to her knees, revealing her smooth calfs. He idly wondered how she got her legs to be so smooth. It was getting quite late, and the tent was lit only by candles and lamps. He had ordered an extra blanket to be brought in as the temperature descended. He wanted Eliza to be comfortable. He gestured to the cot, which she sat on as he sat on his which was right next to hers. The tent was a bit cramped, but he didn't care. "Would you like a cup of tea?" Their tea from before had been abandoned, and had gotten cold.

"That would be lovely, thank you." Eliza messed with the sleeve of the nightshirt, which went down a bit passed her fingers. She watched as Tavington prepared her tea. He had obviously been paying attention to how she liked her tea. She bowed her head slightly when he handed her the tea. "Thank you... er... Colonel." She still didn't know his name, for he hadn't told her yet.

"My name is William Tavington, but please call me William." Tavington gave a half smile, his blue eyes shining. "Tell me Eliza how did you come by your name?" Eliza was a bit of an odd name, and he was curious.

"I was named for my mother." Eliza smiled a bit, looking down at her tea. "Her name was Elizabeth."

"Oh, so your full name is Elizabeth then." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. It was logical that Eliza was a nickname and that she preferred that name instead of Elizabeth so she wouldn't be confused with her mother.

Eliza smiled a bit more, still not looking up. "No, it's just Eliza. My father loved my mother's name, and wanted to name me after her, but my mother didn't want me to carry her name, so she shortened it to Eliza, the first part of her name." She remembered when her father had first told her the story. It was a year after her mother had died, and he had been slightly drunk that night.

"I see. You're mother sounds like an interesting person." Tavington was growing quite fond of Eliza. She was such a nice girl as well as pretty. He could see her in a white wedding dress, standing beside him at an alter. It was a pretty image.

"She was. She was the best mother anyone could ask for." Eliza then looked up at Tavington, his eyes full of surprise. "She passed a few years ago. We've all moved on... " Eliza felt tears welling in her eyes no matter how much she didn't want them to come.

William saw tears in Eliza's eyes, and felt a pain shoot through his heart. He really must be falling for her if her pain suddenly became his. But no, he couldn't be falling in love already, it was impossible. He leaned forward and put his hand on her knee in comfort.

Eliza was slightly shocked, but she didn't move. William's hand was very warm, and the air in the tent was starting to get a bit cold. She took another sip of her tea, managing to keep her tears at bay. She let out a small yawn, placing the cup on the saucer beside her, now empty.

Tavington smiled slightly. "It's getting late. Good night, Eliza." Tavington took his hand off her knee, giving a slight smile as she got under the blankets covering the cot she would be sleeping on.

as Tavington blew out the first candle Eliza said, "Good night, William." She settled in, glad that the cot was slightly comfortable. Her hair spread out on the white pillow as she closed her eyes, beginning to drift off to sleep.

Tavington stared at the basic shadow that was Eliza until his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he was able to make out her features more clearly. He soon changed into his own nightshirt and laid down on his cot. Like Eliza it didn't take long for him to fall asleep.

The next morning Tavington woke up at dawn. Eliza was still asleep, and he couldn't bring himself to stir her. She looked so peaceful in her sleep, and William knew that wouldn't last once she woke up. She was more than likely homesick and worried about her many siblings. He left the tent to get two plates of whatever was being served for breakfast. He knew that Eliza would be hungry when she woke up.

Eliza woke up just as William left the tent. She stretched as her stomach made loud growling noises. She looked around anxiously, making sure no one had heard that, it was a very unladylike noise. Luckily no one had. She felt the need to explore, but knew that William wouldn't exactly approve of the idea. He was oddly protective of her. But perhaps that was a good thing. She settled for exploring the tent instead. She went over to the wooden desk and spotted two books. She grabbed the top one, and began reading it. She had had a passion for books since she had been taught how to read by her mother.

When Tavington returned, a plate in each hand, he was slightly surprised to see Eliza sitting with an open book in her hand, reading it. He didn't want to startle her too much, but it seemed unavoidable, for she was deeply absorbed in the printed text. "Good book, Eliza?" Tavington couldn't help but smile as the girl jumped up, almost dropping the book.

"It is, I rather like it." Eliza had mixed feelings about William. He had wanted to hang Gabriel, and he shot Thomas, most likely killing him. Yet he treated her with respect, and dignity. He also allowed her to read, which isn't something Jacob had been willing to let her do. 'It's not proper for a girl to read' he had said. The smell of breakfast drifted to Eliza's nose, and she looked to see what was on the plate William had brought for her.

"It's rather hard to concentrate with an empty stomach." Tavington handed Eliza a plate and fork. Breakfast that morning was eggs and bacon with a biscuit. He sat on his cot across from Eliza, beginning to eat at the same time she did. They didn't speak while they ate, it wasn't all too polite, and there was really nothing much to say. When they were finished eating, William took Eliza's plate and stood up. "Was the meal to your taste?"

Eliza smiled slightly. "It was, thank you very much." She watched as Tavington took their plates back to the place where he got them. She opened the book again as she waited, getting through about five pages before William returned. She closed the book and looked up, somewhat surprised by the grim expression on his face. "What's wrong William?"

"I've been summoned by General Cornwallis. I must take you with me." William knew what would happen when he took Eliza to Cornwallis, but he had no choice. He couldn't leave her with the men he commanded, they would take advantage of her before she could even call for help. Cornwallis would ask that Eliza remain with him, in safety. After all it was not proper for a lady to be out where there could possibly be combat.


End file.
